The Legalization Of Marijuana

break on through to the other side

Smoking also allows you to think on a level that is not so feasible when one is sober. Back in my student days, some of the most potent work I have done was achieved when I was high. Surely I would not go out and present orally or write exams while under the influence, but the mere fact that my senses were on another level gave me, quite frankly, an edge.

It is like someone with a sixth sense taking on the exact same person with only five senses. When push comes to shove, you hit them with a knockout punch that they did not see coming.

gateway drug

One of the most discussed reasons against legalization is that pot leads to other drugs. You know, that is a load of baloney. Whether or not one does hard drugs has more to do with oneself and not so much with who we hang out with. Yes, many people can be easily influenced, and none more so than myself.

Some very swayable people have offered me cocaine, and to this day, I have refused. I have been offered ecstasy countless times, and I have no desire to try. I have never been offered heroin, and despite my affection for Trainspotting , I will not be searching for veins. I could go on, but you get the idea.

medical

Surely you cannot get something for nothing, so this sixth sense must come at the expense of something, right? Well, it has been widely documented that marijuana itself has never killed anyone. Cigarettes kill people every second, alcohol ravages directly and indirectly, and hard drugs are known to destroy lives, yet pot has never killed anyone.

But smoking weed is not only a matter of life and death; surely excessive smoking will damage one's lungs, there is no doubt about that. The chances for lung cancer are there. There are other issues regarding memory loss. While some studies show that these threats are blown out of proportion, I can tell you that I have some mates whose short-term memory has been affected.

criminal

Authorities spend, no, waste millions of dollars going after people who smoke a recreational drug while rapists, murderers, fraudsters, and hard drug dealers roam the streets. Any way you look at it, even the cops themselves would agree that this is a waste of time and a joke.

Another advantage of legalization is that it would remove marijuana from the product line of high volume, hard drugs. This would not only reduce their stranglehold on drug traffic, but if it is true that pot is a gateway drug, then it would remove it off a menu that also has to offer cocaine, heroine and Lord knows what else.

ethical

What I find most amusing is that America is the "Land of the Free," yet you cannot smoke a recreational drug. There are so many instances where people go to great lengths to show their independence and liberty, yet I cannot smoke a doobie in my own living room in peace. This is irrational and unethical. Smoking a joint should theoretically be nobody's business but mine, until, that is, I get in a car and run over someone. Then, and only then, should you impose the strictest of laws on me.

Now as you can see, legalization of marijuana is not a black or white issue; although I enjoy the wacky weed here and there, I myself have severely toned down my own consumption of the drug. It is fun once in a while, but I now have better vices — and no, they are not of the illegal variety. And besides, as I was saying... oh, man, what was I saying? Take care, and until next time, smoke it and pass it, you can speak after your turn.